Dream Big

Alumnus John Weksler was an orphan; now he works hard to give back to children in orphanages

John Weksler wants to make $125,000 every month. Why? To give it away.

“You have to put a number on it, but it’s not about the money,” said Weksler, who graduated from Regis’ College for Professional Studies in 1994. “You can’t take money to heaven. I want to make it famous to give money to children. I believe in success being shared.”

Weksler has big dreams; he always has. At age 6, he knew he wanted to be a pilot. At 51, he graduated from Regis. Now, at 70 he wants to use his earnings to support orphanages.

The youngest of seven, Weksler was an orphan until he was almost 4 years old. His mother died when he was born and his father, unable to care for all the children, put him and an older brother in an orphanage. Orphanages, said Weksler, give children a better opportunity to be adopted than foster homes.

Weksler’s adoptive parents taught him what it meant to work hard for what you want. If he wanted a car, he would have to buy it himself. If he wanted to go to college, that would be his responsibility. Weksler learned he could set great goals and that he could achieve them.

He took that determination into his service with the Navy, Army and National Guard. He carried it through the rigors of flight school and his two tours in Vietnam. He brought it into a successful career in banking and then into the classroom at Regis.

“I wanted to know the business world, and the best way to learn it was through school,” he said. “I was in college at the same time as my son. It didn’t matter how old I was. I knew I could do anything I set my mind to.”

Weksler studied marketing, finance and economics. His professors gave real-life examples instead of only teaching out of the book, he said. Today, he uses what he learned in his work as a health insurance consultant for small businesses.

“You have to pick something you really want, as big as you can think of, and say ‘I can do this,’ and then do it,” said Weksler. “My dreams have always been pretty big. The bigger the dream, the better.